Pakefield Primary School

Pakefield Primary School has made notable strides in establishing a strong culture of safeguarding and maintaining high attendance rates among students. Leaders are dedicated to supporting disadvantaged pupils and ensuring that basic needs such as emotional well-being and engagement are met, which has resulted in a generally positive learning environment. However, despite these strengths, the overall quality of teaching and learning remains inconsistent, particularly in writing and mathematics, affecting the progress of some pupils. There has been a decline in certain standards due to recent changes in leadership, prompting a current focus on improving curriculum delivery and teaching strategies.

Strengths

• High attendance rates with effective support for families.
• Strong culture of safeguarding where pupils feel safe.
• Dedicated focus on early years with improved provision.
• Positive behaviour and engagement among pupils.
• Effective tracking of pupil progress and targeted support.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent quality of teaching across different subjects.
• Variable support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Declining standards in basic skills like writing and mathematics.
• Need for better identification and addressing of pupil misconceptions.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Pakefield Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 2.3% of pupils at Pakefield Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Pakefield Primary School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.6% of pupils at Pakefield Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Pakefield Primary School received £6,580 and spent £7,539 for each of its 300 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £357,000 (£1,192 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of The Active Learning Trust Limited, income was £8,366 and spending £8,624 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Lowestoft · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Pakefield Primary School is part of The Active Learning Trust Limited, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Westwood Primary School Lowestoft
• Red Oak Primary School Lowestoft
• Grove Primary School Lowestoft
• Ravensmere Infant School Beccles
• The Albert Pye Community Primary School Beccles
• Reydon Primary School Southwold
• Loddon Junior School Norwich
• Loddon Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Sidegate Primary School Ipswich
• Hillside Primary School Ipswich

What is Pakefield Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pakefield Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Pakefield Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Pakefield Primary School was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Pakefield Primary School have?

Pakefield Primary School has 274 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pakefield Primary School cover?

Pakefield Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Pakefield Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Pakefield Primary School?

Pakefield Primary School is at London Road, Pakefield, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 7AQ.